Facile synthesis of mesoporous ZnAl2O4 thin films through the evaporation-induced self-assembly method

Mesoporous ZnAl2O4 thin films have been successfully synthesized using aluminum chloride and zinc chloride as the inorganic precursors, triblock copolymer Pluronic F-127 as the structure-directing agents, through the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns show that the sample is single-phase cubic material with the spinel-type structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the mesoporous structure of ZnAl2O4 materials. The specific surface area determined by BET surface area measurement was found to be 108.4 m2 g-1. The possible formation mechanism of mesoporous ZnAl2O4 thin films was discussed.